1. Field of the Invention
The exemplary invention generally relates to workpiece conveying mechanisms, particularly to a workpiece conveying mechanism that protects workpieces being conveyed and a product line using the same.
2. Description of related art
Conveying mechanisms are widely used in product lines to automatically transport workpieces. Referring to FIG. 5, a typical conveying mechanism 10 includes four supports 11, two rotating members 12 and a transport belt 13. Each rotating member 12 is rotatably mounted on two parallel supports 11 respectively, and the transport belt 13 is tightly wrapped around on the two rotating members 12. The rotating members 12 are configured for driving the transport belt 13. When the rotating members 12 are driven to rotate, the transport belt 13 is driven to move by the rotating members 12 and transport workpieces (not shown) placed thereon.
Also referring to FIG. 6, a typical product line 30 is formed by a plurality of conveying mechanisms 10 assembled together. Each rotating member 12 with a transport belt 13 wrapped thereon is positioned to be adjacent to another rotating member 12 of another conveying mechanism 10. In use, workpieces (not shown) are placed on the transport belts 13. The rotating members 12 are driven to rotate, thus the transport belts 13 is driven to move by the rotating members 12. In this way, the workpieces are transported jointly with the transport belts 13 to be operated. When a workpiece is moved to an end of a conveying mechanism 10, it is transferred to another adjacent conveying mechanism 10 to be continuously moved.
In the typical product lines 30, since the rotating member 12 usually has a large diameter, a gap 14 is likely to be formed between two adjacent conveying mechanisms 10. The workpieces moving on the transport belts 13 may subject to being damaged when traveling through the gaps 14. Additionally, if the diameter of the rotating member 12 is decreased to reduce the gaps 14, a structure of the conveying mechanism 10 may be weakened.
Therefore, a new conveying mechanism and a new product line are desired in order to overcome the above-described shortcomings.